Brand-name manufacturers typically have large sums of money invested in advertising campaigns wherein they offer discount coupons to the consumer. The purpose behind these campaigns is obviously to get the consumer interested in the product by offering a discount off of the retail price. A consumer is more likely to buy a product if they feel they are saving money over the purchase of a competitors product. A large percentage of manufacturer's coupons, which are not distributed with the product to which they are directed, take the form of advertising supplements in newspapers or magazines.
Retail outlets often have campaigns designed to attract coupon collectors their particular establishment. One example of this is to offer the consumer double discounts for coupons redeemed at their establishment. The theory being that once in the store for the purchase of one product, the coupon collector will purchase other products at the same time. The key, of course, is to convince the consumer to shop at one establishment rather than another.
The coupon collector is faced with what can be a formidable challenge: that of cutting out the coupons, saving them and organizing them for use at the point of purchase. It is believed that a substantial number of potential coupon collectors do not collect coupons because of the inconvenience associated with the practice. Accordingly, the manufacturer's and the retailer's promotional efforts have no effect on these consumers since they do not engage in the practice of collecting coupons.
Still, the enormous amounts of money spent on coupon campaigns indicate that coupon collectors represent a fertile target audience for brand-name and retail outlet advertising methods. Further, it is submitted that this market can be further expanded by promoting the practice of coupon collecting itself.